What can parents do about RSV, hand, foot and mouth and other outbreaks at daycare? Here's what experts say

Many schools and daycares across the country are seeing their first winter without COVID-19 restrictions since the pandemic began. Unfortunately, that's coincided with a massive wave of illnesses, including RSV and the flu. Throw in the usual daycare illnesses like hand, foot and mouth, and the common cold, and parents are getting a lot of messages home about sicknesses at school right now.

One is Delaware mom Sarah, who tells Yahoo Life that "it feels like I'm getting a new email about an outbreak at daycare every week." Sarah says her son's daycare closed for a few days due to a hand, foot and mouth outbreak in November that impacted kids and staff, which left her and her partner scrambling to find emergency child care so they could keep working. She says the school has repeatedly sent home notices about an increase in illnesses, before gently reminding parents to keep their kids home if they're sick. "I'm getting these messages constantly," she says. Two weeks ago Sarah's son got the flu, which she thinks he picked up at daycare, and the entire family — grandparents included — ended up getting sick.

Sarah says she's also noticed that many kids in her son's class are regularly absent, seemingly due to illness. "I can't even take off from work when I get sick — I need to save those days for when my son gets sick or daycare inevitably closes due to another outbreak," she says.

"There's still a lot more of winter to go," she adds. "I'm nervous for what's to come."

Doctors say it's common for kids to pick up illnesses at daycare, but this year is especially bad. "Daycare is a great viral breeding ground, and there are a lot of viruses going around right now," Dr. Thomas Russo, a professor and the chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo in New York, tells Yahoo Life. Daycares tend to spread a lot of illnesses because "kids touch everything and each other, spreading germs in the process," Dr. Daniel Ganjian, a pediatrician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., explains.

Young children also aren't great at blowing their noses — often opting to use their hands or clothes to wipe their noses instead — and hand hygiene in the younger crowd isn't the best, Ganjian says. "They'll touch their noses with their fingers and then touch toys and other things in the daycare, right before other kids do the same," he says. "They also sneeze and cough directly on objects other people touch."

Doctors recommend that parents do their best to try to look on the bright side — "it's where kids are building up their immune system and antibody profile," Ganjian says — but it's understandably frustrating to deal with constant illness and closures, especially if you're a working parent.

Unfortunately, Russo says, "you can only do so much" to protect your child and the rest of the family from illnesses they may pick up at school. "Daycare is tough," he admits.

Still, experts say, you could try to do the following to lower your risk of your child — and the rest of your family — sick.

• Bathe them when they get home. "Have them take a shower or bath to get all the germs off," Ganjian advises.

• Change their clothes. If a bath or shower isn't an option, Ganjian suggests at least changing your child's clothes. "That way, if there are any viruses on their clothes, the rest of your family won't be exposed," he says.

• Wash their hands. If your child heads straight to the shower or bath, you can skip this step. But, if it's not feasible in the after-school rush, Russo suggests having them wash their hands after they walk in the door. "It's always good to practice hand hygiene," he says.

• Vaccinate your child. There aren't vaccines to protect against the common cold, but there are shots that can help minimize the impact of the flu and COVID-19, Russo points out. "Make sure that the children and family members get their vaccines," he says. "Our vaccines are imperfect, but they minimize symptoms."

• Consider having older kids mask up. Ganjian acknowledges that many younger children aren't that great at mask-wearing. But, if your child does well with masks and there is a rise at your daycare in respiratory viruses, he says you can try to have them wear a mask at school.

As for those constant alerts about illnesses at daycare, Ganjian says that they're "not meant to scare you." Instead, he says, they're a good heads up to be on the lookout for certain symptoms so you can act quickly if your child tends to become sick. If there is a particularly bad outbreak and you're able, he suggests keeping your child home for a day or two until things blow over. (However, he admits, this is tough for most working families to pull off.)

If your child does become sick, Russo recommends that you do your best to isolate them from the rest of the family to try to lower the risk everyone will get infected. "Unfortunately, Mom and Dad are probably going to take a hit," he says. "Someone has to take care of the sick child, and they're likely to get infected, too."

Ultimately, Ganjian recommends doing your best to manage expectations around daycare and illness. "Kids pick up a lot of illnesses at daycare," he says. "Just do your best."

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